At the company’s annual general meeting, two-fifths of shareholders voted for a proposal to improve transparency around its dealings with Beijing and uphold freedom of expression globally. While the proposal failed, it received far more support than similar ones put forward in 2016 and 2018, which received less than 10 per cent approval. (Financial Times)

Talking point: The proposal, which Apple tried to remove from the agenda, follows concerns over the company’s process and policies for pulling items from its App Store, after it removed a mapping application used by Hong Kong protesters following criticism from Chinese state media. Apple isn’t the only tech giant facing pressure from shareholders over human rights policies. Earlier this week, a group of Alphabet shareholders with at least US$2.4 trillion in assets filed a submission calling on the Google parent firm to form a committee to monitor human rights risks linked to its business operations and products. Shareholders will vote on the proposal at Alphabet’s annual meeting in June.